Monday, 26 February 2018

An Interlude of Spring

Two weeks ago on Wednesday, I had the day off because my eyes were to be examined, and it was hard to tell how many hours would pass before I'd see good enough again to be able to work.My sister went with me and made sure I wasn't too scared (I always am when it comes to my eyes), and that I would get home alright with my limited eye sight.It was a beautiful sunny day, and by early afternoon, I felt confident enough to be out and about again. We therefore took advantage of the unexpected time off and the beautiful weather, and went for a walk.It was much milder than it is now (-9 Celsius this morning, that is around 15 F), and it definitely was more early spring than late winter.

We decided to walk across town to the palace grounds, out there at the other end and to the new and old cemetery. I have posted about Ludwigsburg's Old Cemetery a few times already, for instance here and here, but I don't think I have ever talked about the New Cemetery. It is just one block away from the old one, and it is still in use. From early childhood, I was used to going there with my Mum and/or Grandma, looking after the graves of our relatives.It has been a few years since I've last been there, but my sister and I found the old places without difficulty.Then we walked to the place that always fascinated me as a child, and which I have not quite worked out until today - what is it for? What does it mean?

The plaque at the feet of the bronze sculpture informs us that this is the replica of a Greek statue from the 5th century B.C., based on a Roman copy from Florence, known as Idolino. Why was he chosen to adorn my home town's cemetery? I really wonder what the connection is.

And here is a question for you: Does anyone know what language the writing on this tombstone is, and what it means?

Our next stop was the Old Cemetery. No squirrel leading us to the oldest tomb this time, and the monument to friendship had all shutters closed for the winter so that we could not look at the statue of Grieving Friendship. But we were pleased to see that the tomb of our last king and his family was in good order, not as neglected as we'd sometimes seen it in the past.For a few minutes, we watched a tiny brown mouse with shiny black eyes darting about among last autumn's brown leaves on the ground. Back across town, we arrived home with a lot more sunlight under our belts than what is usually possible for us during an average work day. It certainly felt good, and I am glad my sister took the day off to look after me!

14 comments:

Why, I wonder, do the faces of statues so often look sad? Or is that just my imagination and interpretation? It's a while since I can recall you posting about you and your sister walking together - that's a lovely opportunity arising from adversity. The mental picture of the mouse finished the post off perfectly for me. I love mice.

I am not sure how much of it is sadness and how much of it is supposed to be (religiously induced?) seriousness. After all, a lot of the statues we know so well now were originally made for religious purposes, adorning temples.Yes, walks with my sister are not as frequent anymore since I have started to spend my weekends with O.K., more often than not at his place 150 km from Ludwigsburg.I love mice, too! Having said that, I would not want them in my flat, as I know they eat absolutely everything, even books, and of course leave a mess.

Oh, I feel sorry for those lovely spring flowers - they must have had a shock when the world became all frozen again... Cemeteries (old and new) are full of mysteries, aren't they. However many times I've walked around the old one close to where I live, I still often notice details that have escaped me before.

Most of those very first flowers are frost-resistant, as far as I know, so I am more worried about the birds and other animals than about the flowers.Like you, no matter how often I have already been to the cemeteries of my home town, I still find details that I have not noticed before.

I am glad your eye procedure is over now - and that you saw such delightful and interesting things. What a nice sister you must have ! I love this time of year and although cemeteries are in some ways a bit depressing, I think in Spring thosde whihc have lots of flowers are good places to think about renewal and hope.

My sister is the best, Jenny! The eye procedure is far from over; I had to go to another appointment last Tuesday and am now waiting to learn the date for my operation. All not pleasant but necessary. Somehow, maybe because I have been used to visiting the cemetery as long as I can remember, I find that they are places of comfort and consolation as much as of sadness and grief. Hard to explain, but I find the thought comforting that time does not stand still for anyone.

Like Graham, I love the perfect description of the mouse!Can't think what the language on the tombstone could be but it made me think of Sanskrit of all things, when I looked that up, it does look similar! Someone can tell you I am sure.I did find this: "Graves in Germany are not forever, due to lack of space.All cemeteries have a period of time, normally 20 years in which that body can stay in that grave. Once that time is up, relatives, if any are still alive, may lease the grave for another 20 years...If no one is still around to pay this fee then the grave is leveled off and the stone removed and that area is prepared for another departed soul. The grave stones are taken away, crushed up and used as gravel. If perhaps the grave has any historical importance, then the grave will not be disturbed but will be kept and the up keep paid by the city."

I also love cemeteries. Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta is one of the best spots to visit in the city.

Kay, you are the first to reply to my question about the language on the tombstone, thank you! I think Sanskrit is more... hmm... "ornamental" than that, but we'll see - I hope someone knows and gives me the answer.Yes, our graves here are only leased for a certain period. My Grandpa (Mum's Dad) was buried on the New Cemetery in the same tomb as his parents and his brother; he died in 1989. When my Grandma died in 2001, a new columbarium had only just opened in the small town next to ours, and so my Grandma's urn was put there. My Grandpa's urn was taken out of the old tomb and put in with hers. So we do not have a family grave on the New Cemetery from that side of the family anymore.

You are welcome, Karen! We also looked at the very large and rather pompous monument for one of the biggest industrial/commercial families of Ludwigsburg. They were the biggest employer around for decades and had a lot of influence. We think that the signs on the stone definitely look like an Asian language, we just don't know which one.

I wish I could translate that gravestone but I am afraid I can't. Even though she is mysterious, unseen and nameless, your sister is a very good one to have. I doubt that you would ever swap her or ever wish to.

Like probably most siblings, we did quarrel and bicker as kids and now, at 51 and almost 50, we do of course have different opinions and approaches to some things, but you are right - I would never swap her!

Isn't the image on the stone (the hands) from Michelangelo's famous creation painting? In which cade my guess would be Korean (South) (Christianity being strong there...). But I'm afraid none of the Asian languages is on my "list" - yet ;)